1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the manufacture of continuous lengths of expanded or foamed thermoplastic insulation panels of variable width using an apparatus which conveys continuous lengths of facing sheets between endless conveyor members to permit expansion of a plastic foam material between the facing sheets. The apparatus is provided with adjustable stationary sideplates disposed adjacent to the conveyor members to permit manufacture of continuous lengths of panel having a preselected width which may be varied in accordance with the spacing of the sideplates.
2. Background Art
In the art of manufacturing insulation panels comprising plastic foam material, fabrication apparatus is provided which comprises a pair of spaced apart horizontally extending linear conveyor members for controlling the expansion of the foam material and for supporting opposed facing sheets of selected material to form a variety of laminated panels. The fabrication process generally comprises feeding a facing sheet along and supported by one of the conveyors, applying the foam material in liquid form to the inside surface of the facing sheet and running a top facing sheet above the foam material and supported by the other conveyor. The apparatus must be of sufficient length to provide for a substantially complete expansion and setting of the foam material by the time it reaches the opposite end of the conveyor from the end at which the material was introduced. Such apparatus may be on the order of 70 to 80 feet in length and may also be provided with means for heating the foam material to assist in the expansion and setting process. The aforementioned apparatus is adapted to fabricate insulation panels in continuous lengths which are the cut to a predetermined panel size at the end of the conveyor system.
The arrangement of at least one type of prior art panel fabrication or lamination equipment includes the provision of a lower conveyor member formed by an endless chain or track having a series of flat plate links interconnected to form the endless conveyor. Each of the side-by-side plate members are provided with spaced apart upstanding side support plates for limiting the lateral expansion of the foam material and for supporting the lower panel facing sheet which may be wrapped around the longitudinal side edges of the panel in accordance with a preferred manufacturing process used by the assignee of the present invention. However, the fixed sideplates on the lower conveyor of the fabrication apparatus do not permit the fabrication of variable widths of insulation panels, increase the difficulty of cleaning the conveyor plates from time to time, and require additional power for translating the conveyor due to the added weight of the sideplates.
In the utilization of plastic foam insulation panels, it is desirable to provide panels of precise widths of various dimensions for various applications. For example, although edge wrapped plastic foam insulation panels have been widely accepted for various building construction applications, in certain uses of these panels it is necessary to trim the longitudinal edges of the panel to provide a precise edge for abutting a corresponding edge of an adjacent panel. Accordingly, prior art apparatus for manufacturing panels of a particular width are not easily adaptable to provide the added width needed to assure an adequate trimming margin to form the edges of the finished panels. Moreover, it is also desirable to provide panels of various widths for particular applications. In this respect, the present invention has resulted in a more versatile apparatus for fabricating foam insulation panels in a continuous process and has also resulted in several advantages related to the time and expense associated with maintaining and operating the fabrication equipment.